1. All AR11 teams were funneled onto either AA931 or COPA 301/211. Nobody was allowed to be placed on AA967 which also arrived before COPA.

2. Uchenna learned nothing about driving less cautiously from his San Juan experience. His driving to Hacienda Yanahurco was totally conservative. I had expected that he would have corrected that weakness from AR7, but he didn't.

3. Eric is an extremely aggressive driver and made up a lot of time taking some risks. I expect to see that several times more during other episodes of AR11.

4. The first place prize was not the expected $20,000 but instead just a trip. This tells me that either appearance money or significantly improved final placement bonuses are going to be awarded to all teams.

Puddin, it looks like you have the correct dope afterall. Or can we safely bet on the final three after you are lucky enough to be right about the first ep??

Looks like most of the teams learned their lesson about carrying big backpacks. All except Kevin (or was that Drew) who looked like he was carrying everything including a kitchen sink on his back. No way could that pack be carried on board a plane as fitting into the overhead or under the seat in front of you. Most likely he would have to check that bag.

The BQ's were wearing matching blue longsleave shirts. Jill was in gray. Who was the blond in pink? Danielle?

So the taxis outside of Pim's were just there to take racers to the garage. And the "very unpleasant" task (BVM) was working with horses? To each his own, I guess . I'm always a little suspicious of the editing when they only reveal the top of the route card, but until more info comes along we won't know about any tasks that were edited out. In particular, Phil says that teams must use provided maps to drive 65 miles to the ranch; but the map is only a city map (an "Old Quito Map" that didn't look that old ).

There are two aspects of AR11 episode 1 that have plagued recent races - begging and taxis hired to lead racers. Two of the CBS videos shed some light on this. In one, Rob and Amber tell a Chicago area couple in a bookstore in Miami airport that they have no money(can't be true; see what Charla and Mirna say below) and that they are in a race and cannot beg them for the money to buy this $35 book on Eduador that they need, but will the couple please buy it for them (which they do). We now that in Quito Rob and Amber pay a taxi to lead them to Cotopaxi National Park. We later learn that there is an entrance fee of $10 (not clear if per person or vehicle) to the park.

Charla and Mirna asked a local in Quito to guide them and when they saw how it was impacting him to do so (bus fare back, etc.) they gave him all their money. When they got to the park entrance they had none for the park entrance fee but a tourist bus was there at the same time so they begged for it.

Which is it? Did the producers change the rules to eliminate begging or not? If they did, where is the enforcement and penalties?

Either way, seeing the use of a taxi leading Rob and Amber to victory was totally pathetic. I only hope that a lack of money in leg 4 proves to be his undoing.

A poster Bread Baggage over at TWOP (who knows a lot more about horses than I do) also thinks there was something odd/wrong about the "wild horse" sequence.

Quote

Feral horses wear their feet down fairly well. You won't see mustangs from roundups that have feet like those, nor as in appalling condition body-wise. For a horse to grow hooves like those seen last night, they aren't able to move around enough to do so. The one in particular that they showed having trouble walking was just horrendous and would have taken months of rehab to get healthy. Some of the horses they trimmed were younger, and the feet were not in as bad of shape. Hog-tying them and having someone with no knowledge of hoof anatomy just clipping away at them wasn't likely helping them much at all, possibly even harming them. I know they called them "wild", but something is up - the land they are kept on obviously cannot sustain them and their movement is somehow impeded so that they cannot move around enough to wear their hooves properly. I realize different cultures, different economics, different priorities, but, man - that was so difficult for me to watch. I had to turn away more than once.

As someone who has owned horses for 25 years and been involved in horse rescue for almost 10, the condition of the horses was absolutely appalling. Horses in that type of condition, if belonging to an individual, would be confiscated in this country. Not just their feet, they were horridly thin & malnourished as well as obviously infested with parasites. Their surroundings cannot sustain them nutritionally - everything I saw, except for the donkey (which has a much lower caloric need) body scored approximately a "2" on the Heineke scale - a scale from 1 (near death) to 10 (morbidly obese). A healthy horse will generally score about a 4.5-6. And cutting off their tails (no, they won't get stuck on rocks, etc.) was downright cruel as well. They need their tails to swish away flies and other blood sucking insects that like to make meals of horses. With no tail, they cannot protect themselves from them.

There are two aspects of AR11 episode 1 that have plagued recent races - begging and taxis hired to lead racers. Two of the CBS videos shed some light on this. In one, Rob and Amber tell a Chicago area couple in a bookstore in Miami airport that they have no money(can't be true; see what Charla and Mirna say below) and that they are in a race and cannot beg them for the money to buy this $35 book on Eduador that they need, but will the couple please buy it for them (which they do). We now that in Quito Rob and Amber pay a taxi to lead them to Cotopaxi National Park. We later learn that there is an entrance fee of $10 (not clear if per person or vehicle) to the park.

Charla and Mirna asked a local in Quito to guide them and when they saw how it was impacting him to do so (bus fare back, etc.) they gave him all their money. When they got to the park entrance they had none for the park entrance fee but a tourist bus was there at the same time so they begged for it.

Which is it? Did the producers change the rules to eliminate begging or not? If they did, where is the enforcement and penalties?

Either way, seeing the use of a taxi leading Rob and Amber to victory was totally pathetic. I only hope that a lack of money in leg 4 proves to be his undoing.

apskip

Well, I think we can safely say that Rob mostly ikely did lie about not having money. We have to assume that the 49.00 they got for the leg was in their packet at the starting line (eric & Danielle say 49 at the Pit stop on camera insider clips, JV & Jill say 48 months later in interviews, I would stick withte recolection from later that day). They needed taht money to be able to pay for cabs out of the airport.

But, it is possible that Rob & was telling the truth about a limitation of begging.

2 real possabilities.

1. Not being allowed to beg in the US airports (In the past teams could, but it is possible that over the years this has changed). After all there is no beenfit for Rob not to just ask for money. Teams can usually manage more tehn that if they push while begging.

2. It might be that the limitation is for the whole race, that teams can beg, but they can't directly recieve money from locals.

Rob begged for him to buy him a book. Still begging, but no money went into Rob's hands.

When Charla & Mirna begged for the 10 for the park entrance fee, it is possible that they did the same. Had one of the people they were begging from (or a group) hold the money until enough was collected that a local could purchase the pass and give it to them.

So we will have to wait for more episodes to see if there is a general new rule limiting how teams can beg.

Personally I hope so.

The producers did say they were making it harder for teams to pay for escorts, that could certainly be one of the possible ways.

I agree. I just watched the video and Rob says "we're not allowed to ask for money" and "we're not allowed to take money from you." My guess is that their instructions for the whole season were specifically worded in something resembling those quotes, so the sequence boils down to Rob at his specialty: bending (but not breaking) the rules.

Before the teams reach the park sign/farm bureau sign, you can see the cars pass a road sign. It's a little puzzling, since Machachi and Latacunga are both on the PanAm highway. The only guess I could offer that makes sense is that the PanAm is only a tangent to Machachi, and that the turnoff is right next to the city.